Richard Donner, the prolific Hollywood director behind hit films such as 1978’s Superman, 1985’s The Goonies, and 1987’s Lethal Weapon, has died. He was 91 years old.
Donner died on Monday, his wife, the film producer Lauren Shuler Donner, told Deadline. No cause of death has been revealed.
Born in the Bronx, New York, Donner began his career directing for television in the 1960s, with credits including CBS’ The Twilight Zone and NBC’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. After scoring his first big feature break with the classic 1976 horror The Omen, Donner would go on to direct the first modern blockbuster superhero movie Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman.
Some of Donner’s most well-known work came in the 1980s, with beloved adventure comedy The Goonies in 1985 with executive producer Steven Spielberg and 1987’s blockbuster film Lethal Weapon. The latter movie spawned a successful franchise that ended with Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998. Donner directed each entry in the series.
Donner would launch the Donners Company banner with his wife in 1986 and executive produced 2000’s X-Men movie along with all the 13 entries in the Marvel series, which grossed a combined $2.5 billion at the box office.
Donner is survived by his wife and producing partner Lauren Schuler Donner, whom he married in 1986.
